After Everything We've Been Through - Killian's version
by Captain Poupon
Summary: After everything they've been through -darkness, Hades, being separated by realms- all Killian and Emma want is to have a quiet moment. To be just the two of them, just for one night. [Captain Swan feels guaranteed!] [#10DaysOfCSfeels: one chapter a day, 10 chapters] [Killian's point of view here, Emma's also available]
1. Chapter 1

"Killian?"

I would probably never understand why hearing my name had the ability to make my heart skip a beat, when it was coming out of her mouth. I was about to follow her parents, the witch and that guy newly separated from his devilish double, but she took my hand and I could feel she wanted me to slow down. The decision was instantly taken; I would always choose her. I slowed down and gladly let the others take the lead. The only question left to be answered was why she wanted us to be alone; it meant she had something to say, and I wondered whether it was about my return from the Underworld.

"What is it, love? You don't still feel guilty about my return, do you?"

"No. Just, after everything we've been through; darkness, Hades, being separated by realms…" The others had turned left and were moving away. Emma and I were alone, and I was still wondering what she intended to say. "I just wanted to... say something, you know, when we're not in the middle of a big battle or one of us is facing death." My curiosity was definitely tickled, but I didn't interrupt her. She stopped us and came to stand in front of me. "When things are just… normal."

At last, she let me look into her eyes, but even then, she was being cryptic. "And what's that, Swan?"

I could see she knew what she wanted to say, but somehow it wasn't so easy. She glanced down. It seemed to be one of these times when she was fighting against the remnants of her walls. She looked up again and I took advantage of the opportunity to give her an encouraging look, to let her know she could tell me anything. Glancing down one more time, she seemed to need a few more seconds.

Eventually, she looked up, and the words slipped out of her mouth. "I love you."

 _I'm in love with the most adorable woman._ These three words, I had already heard, but it was the first time she was saying them during a quiet moment. Not even taking the time to say them back, I captured her lips and wrapped my arms around her while her arms came around my neck. As if I was willing to hold her even closer and to have all of her only for myself, I lifted her up. It was the first time I was doing this, but it had come naturally and she didn't show any objection. Keeping her away from everything and even from the floor, I kept kissing her. It seemed like none of us was willing to let our lips be pulled apart as the kiss lingered even when I put her down. The need of air was what made us stop but even then, we stayed close, forehead against forehead. She kept her eyes closed and I saw her pass her tongue over her lips. Opening her eyes and smiling brightly, she pressed a soft kiss on my cheek before stepping back, interlacing her fingers with mine.

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?" I didn't know what she had in mind but, naturally, it didn't stop me, because wherever she'd go, I would follow.

"Somewhere not far from here."

She didn't say anything else, but I had a few ideas about our destination.

"So you're not taking me at Granny's?" This was actually an assumption more than a question, as we had just walked past the other path leading to the diner.

She shook her head. "We're almost there."

I had two other ideas about where she was taking me: the docks, or the house. A few minutes later, I felt a smile stretching my lips as we stopped in front of the white picket fence house.

"I've spent some time here already, but without you it just felt like a house. It's about time it feels like a home." _Oh, love, you're definitely the most adorable one._ I wondered what I had let appear on my face as she added, staring at me, "What?"

 _My love, you really don't seem to realize the extent of the effect you have on me._ I slightly shook my head. "Your words sometimes simply sound like music."

"Come on." She smiled and pulled me towards the porch, before opening the door and leading me inside. "You picked the house, and I moved in when we came back from Camelot, but we never had the chance to talk about it. When I arrived here, I've started to fix everything out, but there are still many things missing, in the kitchen for example, we'll need to go to the shop. I preferred to wait for you, to know what you wanted. I was wondering about some things."

"So that's it. At last, I'm moving in with the woman I love."

"Looks like it," she said with a bright smile.

Not resisting the appeal of her lips, I closed the distance between us and kissed her. "What are these things you're wondering about?"

"It's upstairs," she whispered against my lips. Then walking up the stairs, Emma stopped in the corridor. "It's about the bedrooms. Since you were the one to pick the house, I was wondering if there was a reason why there were three rooms, besides the one in the loft. I know Henry would like the one over there. But the other rooms…"

"I was thinking this one could be ours." Standing right behind her and wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I indicated the largest room, the one in front of us.

Emma looked back at me. "So we're sharing a room?"

 _Swan, do you even need to ask this question?_ "Of course we're sharing a room." Then I became hesitant; maybe she wasn't ready? "Only if you want to. I mean, we've never shared a bed before, and I'll understand if you need more time before we do. We can have separate bedrooms if…"

Softly placing her finger across my lips, she stopped me midsentence. "I don't want separate bedrooms, and I would have been surprised you wanted that. I just wanted to be sure. After all these years spent on your own, you could have wanted your own space. To each have our own space and go into each other's room when we…" I would have loved to hear the end of her sentence because I could guess what it was about, but she didn't finish it. "Anyway…"

She trailed off with a smile, but there seemed to be something else that she wasn't saying; once again she was being cryptic. I couldn't guess what she was thinking about.

"This room," she went on, "I also thought it could be ours. It's all fitted out. I was just wondering if there was a reason why there were so many rooms."

"Can there be too many rooms?" The reason why Henry and I had picked a house with four rooms was simple enough. I cupped her cheek and gazed into her eyes. "My love, this house may be the home of our future; who knows how many rooms we might need?"

She gaped at me. "Did you… Did you just suggest that…"

 _Aye, this is exactly what I mean._ "Perhaps."

I answered quickly. She searched my eyes, as if looking for any hint, but I said nothing, afraid that I might have scared her; she knew I wanted a future with her, but had she ever realized I was considering the possibility that our family could consist of more than just the two of us and Henry? None of us said anything else on the subject and she hugged me, perhaps because it was allowing her to hide her face in my neck. I didn't extend on the subject.

"Did you have any other questions about the rooms?" I asked.

"No. If we need only one room, then it's ready. I had time to fit it out. There are more things to take care of downstairs."

She pecked my lips before I followed her down the stairs. My attention was drawn to the telescope. The ocean view was as stunning as I remembered. It was when I stepped back that I noticed the way she was staring at the door leading to the basement.

"Love?"

"Do you think I'll ever be able to live here without thinking of how I made you come to this place and kissed you right here to poison you, so that I could lock you up with Zelena in the basement?"

"Emma…"

She was obviously feeling guilty about what she had done as a Dark One, and I couldn't help myself; whenever I was hearing a hint of sadness in her voice, I had to try and comfort her. My cheek pressed against her hair, I wasn't seeing her as I talked.

"I remember standing here and stealing your memories. Or standing there and impersonating Henry to trick you and take Excalibur. I've done worse things than you. But we agreed to forgive ourselves for what we did. We just need some time to create new memories. Good ones. We haven't done things right, but we'll fix everything. This place will feel like home."

I kept her in my arms; she could stay there as long as she needed or wanted to. In the meantime, my thoughts wandered and, when she stepped back, I had an idea in mind.

"Speaking of doing things right," I went on, "There are things we haven't even done."

"Like what?" Every hint of sadness had disappeared.

"Like taking the time to go sailing and admire the sunset, and to stargaze once the night has fallen."

Her face lit up and I felt my smile expanding as she asked, "Can you take me sailing tonight?"

 _Exactly the question I was hoping for._ "I can do that. And since we have some time before sunset, how about I take you to the restaurant? I've spent enough time in this town to know the next crisis will arrive soon. One more reason we have to enjoy a date when there's no Snow Queen or Queen of Darkness or darkness itself after us." With a crooked smile on my lips, I played my eyebrow to give her this look I knew she couldn't resist. "Will you go out with me tonight?"


	2. Chapter 2

"Will you go out with me tonight?"

"Of course I will!" she answered without a hint of hesitation.

I didn't expect her lips to crash against mine with so much spirit, but that was not something I would ever complain about.

"I have one request." _A request?_ "Can we skip the restaurant part and have dinner aboard the Jolly Roger instead? We can get some take-away food."

I could feel my left eyebrow going up, this time unintentionally. "Are you saying you want to eat a grilled cheese and onion rings on a date?"

"I'm not going out on a date with you for the food." _Well, I'm glad to hear that._ "And it doesn't have to be grilled cheese and onion rings."

"As you wish." To be honest, I wasn't going out for the food either.

"Are we going now?" she asked.

 _Are you as impatient as I am?_ "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Unless you prefer me to wear a dress?"

 _Love, you look beautiful with anything. And probably even more without anything._ I shook my head to stop my thoughts from drifting any more. "You look beautiful like this."

Her smile made me think she was glad to escape the getting ready part. "Then, let me do just one thing and I'm all yours."

She took her talking phone, and I watched her handling it with an incredible dexterity. Within a few seconds, she was done with it.

"What did you do?"

"Texted my father."

"What did you say?" Rather indiscreet, but my curiosity had no limit.

"I said, 'Going to sail with Killian. Goodnight!' And now I'm leaving my phone here." Flashing me a bright smile, she put her talking phone down on the table. "Nothing will come in our way, it's just us. You and I."

 _Just us. You and I._ The prospect was thrilling, and seemed unreal; would this town let me spend one night with her and only her?

"Let's go, before a dwarf comes running our way to announce the next hassle."

Emma giggled. "You're right, let's go. You're the only one I want to see tonight. I don't want anyone to interfere with our plans."

 _Us against the world._ Or at least against this town where enjoying a quiet moment seemed impossible. I liked the idea; all I wanted was her. "Let's escape for the night."

Leaving my talking phone next to hers, I then took her hand and led her outside. I was hoping there would be no one we knew at Granny's and, luckily, the place was rather deserted when we arrived; her parents, the witch and the new guy had obviously not dawdled at the diner.

"What do you want to eat for dinner?" Emma asked me.

"Whatever pleases you."

Anything would suit me, as long as I was with her. While gazing at her, I thought again of how she had asked whether she should wear a dress: she didn't need one of those to look beautiful; every part of her was flawless, there was not a detail that I would change. She was just perfect. And the best part was that I was the one she loved.

"Since you didn't know what you wanted to eat, I took the one which is a mix of everything," she warned me, talking about one of those baskets Granny's was preparing to take away.

"You're perfect." The words slipped out of my mouth and were not just related to the choice of the basket; they were more like a general truth I needed to remind her.

I pecked her lips while Granny handed us our meal she had just packed and, taking advantage of Emma's momentary distraction, I handed Granny a bill before she had time to.

"Killian…" _Even faster than I expected._

"I'm not letting you pay," I said.

"So old-fashioned."

A chuckle escaped me. "That's what you get from dating a man who's been alive for centuries." She looked for something to answer, in vain, which amused me even more. There was something else I could think of, and I added with a smirk, "And I'm not done being old-fashioned."

Before she had time to react, I took the bag from her.

"Killian!" She complained again. "You only have one hand."

 _Tactful reminder, love._ I smirked and hung the bag from my hook before showing her my free hand.

"Not a problem, my hand's still yours." This all seemed to amuse Granny, who had obviously been watching us the whole time. It was time to get some privacy. "Let's go, love."

Slipping my arm in her back and placing my hand on her hip, I made her turn around and, after nodding goodbye at Granny, led her outside.

Used to always be interrupted when I was with her, I spent the journey from the diner to the docks looking for the one who would come and ruin our plans for the night. But no dwarf nor anyone else came running our way, and we arrived at the Jolly Roger without mishap.

Quite the team we made when it was time to set sail. Once we had put some distance between us and the shore, and the Jolly Roger was sailing in the right direction, I blocked the helm and joined Emma at the railing.

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Come," I simply said.

Taking her hand, I indicated her to follow. It wasn't the first time we were together on board, but it was the first time that the point of the trip was simply to enjoy it. I took her to my favorite spot; to the place offering the best view, and where the wind felt the most powerful: the bow of the ship.

"Are you giving me my Titanic moment?" she asked.

"Tita-what?"

She seemed amused, and I guessed this was again one of these references I was unable to catch.

"I really need to make you watch all those movies. In our house, we already have the couches, we should add a TV, Henry will want one anyway." She paused and seemed to hesitate. "Or maybe I shouldn't make you watch them, because I find it rather adorable that you never know what I'm talking about."

"Let me choose for you: if you make me watch those movies, does that mean I'll spend whole evenings holding you in my arms?"

A smile stretched her lips. "Maybe."

"Then, you should make me watch those movies. Or perhaps just a few of them, enough to keep our evenings busy, but not all of them so you can still quote things I don't know."

"Then, I should make you watch Titanic."

 _Titanic._ The name didn't even sound familiar. "What is it?"

"Titanic is the name of a ship. The movie is about two people who fall in love, and there's one moment when the man leads the woman to the bow of the ship, and he holds her like this." She placed my hand and my hook on her hips. "And she does this."

She outstretched her arms and leant back against me. I was wondering whether there was something else coming or whether that was it, but as long as I had her against me, I was thrilled.

"Wait," she suddenly said. Wondering what she was now up to, I didn't move and watched her remove her rubber band to leave her hair loose. Again, she leant back against me and outstretched her arms. "Even better."

I guessed she was talking about the blonde strands now dancing in the wind, at the same time revealing her neck. This sight was irresistible; I pressed my lips on her neck, and the little sound she emitted was rather satisfying.

"He doesn't do that, but I won't complain about this interpretation of the story."

Smiling against her skin, I crossed my arms on her stomach to hold her even closer, and my lips parted to wrap around the soft flesh.

"Killian…"

She refolded her arms and I felt her fingers closing around my wrists while she leant back against me even more, and I kept lightly sucking and tasting her skin. I then felt her cheek rubbing mine and lifted my head up to capture her lips with mine. She turned in my arms and this was when I started to lose myself. Her arms were wrapped around my neck and mine around her waist, but my hand then found her hip and trailed down her thigh. Kissing her, I was barely aware of what I was doing when I lifted her leg up to my waist, and I certainly didn't expect her to jump in my arms, crossing her ankles in my back. The kiss seemed to become even more passionate and, holding Emma against me, I stepped back to lean against the railing of the ship. This was one of our most searing kisses; every move of her lips on my lips, of her tongue against my tongue, was triggering these instincts I had learn to fight against in her presence. I was lost in a world which only belonged to her and I, where I was only aware of her body against mine and my lips locked with hers. I realized she seemed to be playing with the buttons of my shirt.

 _What are you doing, love? Right here? Right now? As you wish._

My hand trailed up her hip and slipped under her sweater, grazing over a skin even softer than I had imagined. But she stopped my hand by covering it with hers, while lightly nipping my lip.

"We should eat," she whispered while getting back on her feet.

 _Love, no, you can't do this._ "Swan…"

It sounded like a complaint, and she noticed.

"Sorry, I didn't want to…" she apologized. I kept gazing at her, waiting for the end of her sentence. "I didn't mean to…"

She turned red, and teasing her about it seemed to be the perfect way to recover from my emotions; a sweet revenge on what she had just done. "Didn't mean to what?"

As expected, she blushed even more. "I didn't mean to… to make you think that… well, you're a man."

"Oh, I'm a man?" I chuckled, very amused by all of this. "Don't you forget it."

"I mean… I got carried away."

"Kisses on the neck on the bow of the ship lead to a loss of control. Noted." Teasing her was just too tempting, and this blush covering her cheeks was simply beautiful. I thought again of how she had worded it, on this day when she had asked me out on our first date. "But I get it, still not the time to pillage and plunder."

"Stop talking." Her lips crashed against mine.

 _Efficient way to shut me up._

A moan escaped me when her hand unexpectedly landed on the top of my leg and, automatically, I started to pull her closer.

But soon she stopped me and said, "Let's have dinner."


	3. Chapter 3

"Let's have dinner."

 _You're impossible. And yes, I know, that may be one of the many reasons why I love you._

While I watched her go and fetch Granny's bag, I tried not to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't stopped me. By the time she came back, my instincts were back under control.

"Can we eat on the railing?"

"Sure!" I was seeing no inconvenient to this, until I saw her climb it. "Swan! What are you doing?"

"Sitting on the railing," she answered as if climbing the railing like she had just done was usual. "You will excuse me, my Killian…"

 _My Killian, that's new, I like how possessive that sounds._

She softly pressed her lips on my cheek before finishing her sentence, "I love your ship, but I prefer a view on the ocean."

"Oh, you prefer an ocean view?"

I had to tease her even if, like her, I had always had a preference for gazing at the ocean rather than at the ship. Another detail allowed me to keep teasing her: she was sitting on the railing and facing the ocean, but the west was behind her.

"Perhaps we should move to the other railing, so that you can have your ocean view, _and_ enjoy the sunset."

"Fine." She didn't dare to admit out loud that I was right, but her face was saying it all, and that was enough for me.

She grabbed the bag from Granny's and, again, I couldn't help worrying when seeing her climbing the railing. I said and did nothing but standing by her side, ready to catch her just in case. But she seemed to notice.

"You didn't need to worry. I've done things much scarier than sitting on a railing."

"Perhaps that's exactly why I'm careful." It was my turn to step over the railing of the ship and sit down. "I've lost you so many times, I'm not taking any risk to lose you again, especially over a simple railing."

As I heard the words coming out of my mouth, I realized this was my biggest fear; to lose her again. In one moment, I had turned the light and teasing conversation into a serious one, and she also noticed the change.

"Killian, you're not going to lose me." Her hand came to rest on my thigh, close to my knee. "Even if we get separated somehow… We've been through so much, lately… We'll always find our way back to each other."

I got the impression she was trying to convince herself with her own words, because she probably had the same fears.

"You're right. Let's agree that we won't let anything come between us."

"I agree," she said before leaning towards me, leading to our foreheads touching.

There we were, both facing the same fears, and both reassuring each other about them.

"I love you."

"I know," she replied with a smile. I saw her open her eyes and look into mine. "I love you too."

Never would I get enough of the taste of her lips, and I liked the idea that neither would she; we leant toward each other at the same time, and kissed again. I was delighted to see her pass her tongue over her lips.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her, remembering about the dinner we had yet to have.

It seemed like she needed to think before being able to answer the question. "I think I am." She grabbed the bag and examined the basket. "I need to warm it up a bit, it'll taste better."

I said nothing and watched her, guessing what was to come and loving it already. Taking the basket between her hands, her eyebrows lightly creased as she focused on it. It then happened: her hands flared, and sparks of light magic started to dance around the basket.

 _Beautiful._

I kept watching the golden sparks, trying to understand their motion, but they seemed unpredictable. I was tempted to reach for her hands, to touch the sparks, but I felt like they might disappear if I did, so I refrained from doing so and silently watched, enthralled. It was not the first time I was witnessing magic. I had seen different people use it, like the crocodile, or Cora and her daughters. I had even used it myself as a Dark One. But with Emma, it was different. Her magic never ceased to amaze me. The difference was surely coming from the fact that, unlike anything I had seen before, Emma's magic was light and pure as gold.

Feeling like she was watching me, I looked up and caught her eye, and wondered how long she had been gazing at me. The flares stopped.

"You're amazing." _And beautiful. And flawless._

"It's nothing, I just…"

"Used your magic," I finished her sentence. _Too modest, love._ "You won't convince me that this is not amazing."

"Well…" Obviously she intended to argue, but she seemed to realize I was right and she would not manage to convince me, as she didn't even finish her sentence. Instead, she handed me the basket. "Help yourself."

I considered the different options we had, and quickly decided to keep the basket on my lap; no way I would shift aside on the railing and put some distance between Emma and I, just to be able to place the basket between us. I didn't feel like I was hungry, but I ate because it was time to eat and because we had this meal to share. I was eating mechanically, only taking care of leaving the onion rings to her, on which she seemed to have her heart set on. She was watching the sunset, and I was mostly watching her.

"That's beautiful," she commented, her head leaning against my shoulder. "I've rarely taken time to admire a sunset, even less on the ocean like this. You must have watched so many."

I glanced at the setting sun. The sky was blazing. "Aye, indeed. But tonight is better than ever."

She looked up at me, her eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Really? Why?"

"Swan, do you really need to ask?" _Love, seriously._ But she was obviously serious, truly wondering what was special about this night. I was looking her in the eye, trying to decrypt her emotions. _Why do you look ashamed?_ "You, of course. It's the first time I admire a sunset with my true love."

"Oh," she said in surprise.

"What did you imagine?"

She averted her eyes to look at the sunset. "You're going to think that's stupid."

"Never. Not when it comes from you."

She laid her eyes on me again. "I thought there was something special about the sky or the sun. Something I wasn't aware of because I know nothing about astronomy."

 _Is that why you seem to feel ashamed? Because you lack knowledge in astronomy?_ I felt relieved and flashed her a smile to let her know everything was alright. "To each his own."

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't that what you say when you mean every one of us has their own area of expertise?" These were words I had heard in the modern world, and I thought I had understood their meaning, but perhaps I was wrong. "That exactly proves my point: see, it's alright you know nothing about astronomy, because in the meantime, I know nothing about technology and all those modern things. I'm sure that's not true by the way, you do know some stuff. Anyway, my point is: that's alright. Because I'm learning about modern things, just like you'll learn everything about the stars. I can teach you."

"I'd love that." She leant her head against my shoulder again, before adding in a hushed voice, "True love."

My smile considerably widened. "Aye, true love. And Zeus-approved."

"That's one of my favorite parts," she said.

"The part when he says it's time to take me back where I belong, and he sends me straight back to you."

It would probably take me a while to get over the fact that a god had decided that my time to die had not come, and had sent me back to the woman I loved instead. Without him, I wouldn't have stuck to my word that I was a survivor.

"He actually sent you to your grave… Where your body was lying."

"And where _you_ were." _Sorry love, I must insist._ _I like the idea he sent me back to you._ "'It's time to take you back where you belong,' that's his words; 'it's time.' He surely knew you were there. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been time."

She gaped and, instead of refuting my theory, seemed to accept it and simply repeated, "Zeus-approved."

"Our love is so true it's been blessed by a god."

It sounded even better when it was said out loud. I really loved that fact, and she seemed to love it as well, or perhaps she just loved me, her true love: once again, my lips were captured by hers and I gladly kissed her back. Like most of the kisses of this day, this one was more intense, more passionate than before. _Am I even more irresistible tonight than usual?_ The thought made me smile against her lips, and I felt in a teasing mood again.

"You're going to miss the part when the sun disappears below the horizon," I said without bothering to pull back. Our foreheads and noses were touching, and our lips were very close. When she tried to close the distance again, I was tempted to let her, but teasingly placed my lips out of her reach instead. "I don't want you to miss the sunset because of me."

I was rather amused by all of this, but I noticed there was no hint of amusement upon her features: looking at the horizon again, I heard her deep breath.

"Are you alright, love?" I asked while reaching for her hands on her lap, which she was holding together.

"Yes," she answered without looking at me. "The sunset is beautiful."

"Emma." Not seeing her eyes, I couldn't read her, so I waited until she looked at me. "I know when something's bothering you. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." _Nothing; what anyone who has a problem says._ My worry had obviously been visible, as she felt the need to add, "Killian, I can assure you, everything's fine. I'm fine. More than fine."

"More than fine?" _Now, that's interesting._

"I, uh…" The fact she blushed let me guess there was actually no problem at all, and I relaxed. "Have you ever felt like you love someone so much that you're overwhelmed with all those feelings?"

 _Definitely the most adorable._ I tossed my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into me to press my lips on her cheek. She just deserved all the love in the world; or rather, all of mine.

"I have. A countless number of times. Always with you."

"So now, you believe me if I say everything's alright?"

"Aye." _Overwhelmed with all those feelings._ For me, it was actually almost a constant state, when I was with her; I had simply learnt how to keep in control. Sometimes, instincts were threatening to come out on top, but even then, everything was alright. "There's nothing wrong with true love."

"I really didn't like the circumstances leading to it, but I love that we got to pass this test. I was seeing my parents, and true love seemed to be so rare. I never thought I would have it."

"That is until we fell in love."

Like her, I had never thought it would happen to me. If I had been told, years ago, that I would find true love, I would have laughed at them; how could have I believed in true love when I didn't even believe in love anymore?

"Why did you fall in love with me?" Her question pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Why?" I felt my eyebrows going up and my mouth quirking into a crooked smile; I knew the answer would probably make her blush. "Because you're flawless. You're everything I could have ever dreamed of." My smile widened when she indeed turned red. _You asked for it._ "I'd say the story of _how_ I fell in love with you is much more fascinating."

Since there was always something going on in Storybrooke, this was the type of conversations we had never had.

"Is this a story you'd like to share?" she asked.

"Only if you'd like to hear it."

"Tell me."


	4. Chapter 4

"I'd say the story of _how_ I fell in love with you is much more fascinating."

"Is this a story you'd like to share?" she asked.

"Only if you'd like to hear it."

"Tell me."

 _I was hoping you'd say that._ Putting the empty basket away, I settled myself comfortably; or at least as comfortably as a railing was allowing to be: I placed my arm in her lower back and my fingers closed on her hip to keep her close. Losing myself in memories from when we met, I began to tell my tale.

"It started when we first met. Of course, I didn't know yet. But that's when it all started. When you found me, there were your mother and these two other women with you, but guess who caught my eye? You." The thought of what was coming next amused me. "And you definitely got my attention when you held a dagger against my throat and tied me up to a tree."

As expected, she giggled. _Most beautiful sound in the world._ "So I won your heart by threatening you?"

"Not my heart, love, not yet." _Uh, do I really need to be more explicit? Or can you guess by yourself?_ "You do realize telling this story requires me to talk about the man I was before, when you first met me?"

She was unable to hide her amusement, and I was glad she was taking it that way. "The man who was seeing women as nothing more but distractions for the night." _Well, I guess that one is well-deserved; I can't even deny._ The spark in her eyes was matching her teasing tone. "Yes, I see. I haven't won your heart straight away, I've just… turned you on by tying you up to a tree?"

"Not a very flattering portrait, is it?" I chuckled. "For my defense, I think I did realize from the first day that there was something special. You had such fire… You still have, by the way. I had never met a woman like you before. On the beanstalk, I was truly hoping it'd be you, because you had made me curious, and I wanted to know more about you, besides what I could already read in your eyes."

"Your open book. I didn't understand how, in such a short time, you seemed to understand me better than anyone had done in my whole life."

"Aye. I didn't admit I saw myself in you, because I didn't truly understand it at the time. I just knew I had never felt like this with a woman. And how lucky I am, this woman happened to be the most beautiful one."

She blushed and, again, denied: "There must be plenty of women more beautiful than I am."

 _Definitely not._ "You really don't realize, do you?" _If only you could see yourself the way I see you._ "I'll give you one example: on this night when I was hit by a car, I was lying on the side of the road. I had totally deserved this situation, but at this moment, I was only conscious of this pain keeping me on the ground. That is until I saw you. There was just enough light for me to see your face, and I can assure you I've never seen any woman as beautiful as you. For a second, I even forgot about the pain. Though it did come back fast." _When the crocodile attacked me with his stick. Even then, there was already someone to interrupt our moments._ "Speaking of this moment, I've never thanked you for stopping the crocodile from finishing me."

"I was doing it for Belle."

 _For Belle?_ "Aye, whatever your reasons were, thank you."

"Alright, let's admit it," she said with a smile. "I was worried. Not so worried about the car, but about Gold. The way he attacked you whereas you were already lying on the ground... I don't know how much you remember, because I don't know when precisely you passed out, but we got in the ambulance and…"

"You were with me in the ambulance?" _I was not aware of that._

"Yes. And when we arrived at the hospital, I was afraid Gold would come after you, so I asked the nurse to hide you."

"You did that? And here I was, thinking at this moment that you didn't give a damn about me."

"That's what I thought too," she admitted with a giggle.

"I don't seem to recall what happened from the moment when you stopped the crocodile from finishing me. There were lights, perhaps that was the ambulance, but I'm not sure. The next moment I remember is waking up in this place I didn't know, everything was so white there. Though I wasn't really interested in knowing where I was, because I woke up and there you were, sitting on the edge of my bed. I guess I wasn't awake enough to remember everything, but I remember very clearly this moment when you were leaning over me and telling me to keep smiling. I must admit I'm not sure I've heard what you said next, but I do remember staring at you and wondering whether that was real."

"I do remember this moment." She flashed me a teasing smile before adding, "And I can tell you were not very subtle with your words."

I laughed, not surprised at all by this. "I'm unfortunately not surprised, that's how I was at that time. What I wasn't realizing was that I was more than just interested in you. I mean, I could feel there was something more, but I guess there was simply too much darkness inside me to realize that I was in love with you. But little by little, hints that you were the one I wanted, the one I _truly_ wanted, mounted up. Little by little, you pushed the darkness away, and at last I could see the light. I could see that I wanted to share much more than a simple night with you: I wanted to share with you my life, my future."

"When… How did you start to realize?"

"We were at Granny's. I was planning on stealing the bean and leaving Storybrooke on my own. Which I actually did. But at Granny's, you told me something. You gave me the choice between being alone like I had always been, and being a part of something. You also told me we understood each other. I was on my ship, I had the magic bean and I was thinking of where I could go, but all I could think of was you. Your voice kept resounding in my mind. On that day, I realized I was unwilling to go anywhere you were not. I wanted to be a part of that something. Whatever that might be, I was interested if that something included you. So I came back." _Probably the best decision of my life._ "But even then, I wasn't aware of the extent of your power over me."

She lightly tilted her head on the side but didn't say a word, so I went on.

"Henry had been kidnapped and I knew my ship could be of use. I didn't hesitate before offering my services. What a wonderful surprise it's been to know that the crocodile was joining. I could have reconsidered my offer, but I haven't, because I knew that, if I wanted to be with you, I had to welcome aboard my ship the man I've spent centuries trying to kill."

"And here I was, wondering why you had suddenly joined the hero side."

I laughed. _Sorry love, that was not an act of heroism, just me being selfish and wanting to be with you._ "Aye, you were the reason why. I chose love over revenge. Even if I still didn't know at this moment that it was love." She looked surprised and I paused, the thought of someone else crossing my mind. "Your father saw right through me. He knew I was there for you; perhaps it was more obvious to him than it was to me. He told me you'd never like me."

"He said that?" Her laugh was contagious.

"Aye. But don't worry, I've grown up on him, he told me so in the Underworld. He was saying he had come for you, but then he confessed." I laughed and she joined.

"You two are adorable."

"I'm not convinced adorable is the most accurate word. Anyway, I'm very glad you proved him wrong on the part when he said you'd never like me. And perhaps proved _me_ wrong. Even talking to you happened to be challenging, and there were times when I was wondering where this was all leading me. But I had come to Neverland for you, I couldn't give up so easily. So I kept trying, following an instinct I was not really understanding then; I just knew I wanted you. And it happened: you kissed me."

"And you were the one who couldn't handle it," she said on a teasing tone.

"Indeed. I didn't expect it'd come as such a revelation. It was like the fog had lifted and I knew; I knew that I was in love with you."

"I love this story; our story," she said while leaning her head against my shoulder. Her tone indicated she was thinking the story was over.

"Wait, I'm not done with it. You asked me how I fell in love with you, and I told you how I realized I was in love with you. But that's not even the best part of it."

"What do you mean?" She looked at me, her curiosity obviously tickled.

The sky was dark already but there was just enough light for me to see how beautiful she was and to get lost in her eyes. "I loved you already, but that was nothing compared to how much I love you now. Every day, I love you more than the day before. And it seems impossible to me right now, but tomorrow I will probably love you even more than I do now."

"Killian…" She looked like she was about to swoon, and I smugly kept gazing at her. I saw her eyes lower to my lips and, the next second, I was kissing her.

"I love you," she whispered.

 _Second time in one day that you're saying it first, and second time when none of us is in danger._ "And I love you."

It looked like we both got lost in each other's eyes, leading to one of those silent moments when it was just the two of us, happy and in love; one of those moments when we didn't need to talk because we were gazing at each other and that was enough.

I was thinking of the story I had just told – our story, like she had called it – and a question crossed my mind. "How did _you_ fall in love with me?"


	5. Chapter 5

"How did _you_ fall in love with me?"

"How I… Wow." She didn't seem to know where to start, and I patiently waited. "Well… I'd say our adventure in the past; when I fell through Zelena's time portal and you followed me. You didn't have to do this."

 _Of course I had to._ "What would a pirate's life be without some adventure?" I gazed into her eyes, wondering whether she was truly surprised I went after her through the time portal. "But that's not the reason why I followed you, of course. I didn't want to let you land alone into an unfamiliar world. And I especially didn't want to be in Storybrooke without you. There was no choice to make, and if I had to do it again, I would follow you in a blink of an eye; I'd rather be lost with you than in a place I know without you."

She was staring at me without saying anything, as if she had got lost into my eyes. _I've said nothing but the truth. Don't you know, by now, that I would follow you to the end of the world?_ Since she was still saying nothing, I called her again.

"So that's when you fell in love with me? During this adventure in the past?"

"What?" She resurfaced. "No. I guess I fell in love with you much earlier, but at first, it was obvious to me that we could not be meant for each other. I mean, I was seeing in you only a pirate." _Of course._ "A potentially dangerous pirate I couldn't trust no matter how handsome he was."

 _Accurate description of who I was._ An element of her sentence amused me. "At least, you noticed my handsomeness."

She laughed too, and seeing her like this was warming my heart. "That might have been the first thing I've noticed, even despite those rags you were wearing when we first met."

I repressed a laugh. _My handsomeness doesn't come from my clothes, love._

"But then, I've noticed more than your good looks," she went on. "You came back and we went to Neverland, and you let me see there was some good in you. The problem was not you anymore, it was me, because I…"

I became serious again as I heard those last words. "Love, I won't let you think you're the problem."

"But I was." _Stubborn Swan._ "Because you kept showing me you were not that bad pirate I thought you were, but I was in denial, fighting against myself not to admit my feelings. Because of my walls."

"Walls which are one of the many reasons why I love you," I interrupted her again. She might be stubborn, but so was I, and there was no way I would ever let her have such a low self-esteem. "Because you let me be the one to break them down."

"I know," she admitted. _But you're still refusing to see how wonderful you are._ "I'm just saying that… Well, in Neverland, I wouldn't have kissed you if, deep down, I hadn't wanted to. But my walls were just too high for me to see that I was enjoying your presence more than I was allowing myself to realize. The adventure in the past was the moment when you made my walls shatter."

 _And when I fell in love with you even more._

"We were just the two of us and, besides all those moments we had, like when we danced at the royal ball, you… Well, no one had ever done for me what you did. You followed me through the portal, you found a way to bring us back to Storybrooke, you…"

 _Once again belittling yourself._ "I didn't do it on my own, love. I'd say most of it was you. We made quite the team; we always have, from the start."

"Yes." _Yes, but…?_ "But you also made me realize Storybrooke was where I belonged, with my family. And with you. When we were at Granny's after we came back, there was this party for my brother, and I could only think of the one who was missing: you. I saw you were sitting outside."

 _Sitting outside with my rum, thinking about you and about how much I wished you could be mine._

"So I came to you," she went on. "And again, you showed me how much you cared about me. In my entire life, I had never felt as important to someone as I was feeling to you at this moment. I had heard you talk about your ship, I knew it was like your home, and knowing you had traded it for me…"

I was gazing at her, hanging onto her every word. It was like I was drinking them, and love was overwhelming me. I wrapped her in my arms, kissed her cheek and lingered there, softly breathing her in.

"You are my home." My voice was only a whisper. _I didn't need my ship anymore. I've not hesitated for long before trading it for a chance to see you again._

I remained there, my forehead leaning against her temple, keeping her in my arms. I was thinking of everything she had said, about the evolution of her feelings for me through time, about her own point of view on our story. I loved hearing her talk about it, and I wondered whether she had anything else to say.

"Was that the end of your tale?"

"Oh, the story." _Busted getting lost in your thoughts again, love._ "No, there is something else I want to say. After this moment at Granny's…"

"When you kissed me on your free will for the first time," I completed. _One of my favorite moments._

Another one of these beautiful musical giggles escaped her. "Yes. After this moment, I was not done fighting against myself, because admitting to myself how much I cared about you led to something new: the fear of losing you. Because every time there'd been something good in my life, it had been taken away from me, and I was afraid that letting myself love you would lead to me losing you."

I knew everything about her fear to lose the ones she loves, but the way her words flowed to me made my heart skip a beat. This moment in the middle of the street, outside Granny's once again, was also one of my favorites.

"This moment when you said this, while I thought you were running away from me because you didn't trust me…" I reached for her hand in order to play with her fingers, which I had not felt against mine for too long. "That's when I realized you actually cared about me and were even considering the idea of being with me."

"And you found the words I needed to hear to reassure me," she completed.

"And on the next day you were asking me out on a date." _And made me totally miss the target because it came as such a surprise; a very good one._

"Yes, that's what I wanted to talk about. Our first date. You've done so well that…"

"Why, thank you." Compliments were always welcome, but I had this tendency to always think she was way better than me; _all these efforts to be a better man, it was all for you._ "A princess deserves a worthy date."

She smiled, but of course didn't say a word about what I had just said. "You've done so well that you made me forget about the Snow Queen. That, I think, I told you." _Aye, you did. And I was rather glad to hear it._ "But do you know that, after this goodnight kiss on the doorstep, when I entered the apartment, I needed to lean back against the door?"

This piece of information was new, and I could feel my lips stretch into a wide smile. "Did I sweep you off your feet?"

"Maybe."

 _Come on, Swan, that's alright, you can admit it_. "What happened next?"

"I jumped with surprise when I realized my parents had been waiting for me."

"They were waiting for you?" This conversation was taking a funny turn.

"Yes," she said with an amused smile. "Parents; they wanted to know how it went. They wanted to hear everything about it. Especially my mother, she was asking so many questions."

My smile was widening and I couldn't stop it. "And what did you say?"

"I said I was going to bed." _Too bad, I'd have loved to hear that._ "But if you want to know: I heard my mum say I seemed happy. Well done."

My lips could probably not stretch into an even wider smile.

"Really, this first date was amazing, kind of like a breathtaking confirmation that I wanted to be with you. And, well, we've been together since then." And once again, her words had lost me, and I was contemplating her, perhaps for too long, as she felt the need to add, "This time, that's the end of my tale."

"I know. I just enjoy gazing at you." I pecked her lips and again locked my eyes on hers. A question had just crossed my mind. "I have one question to ask you."

"Yes?" She sounded worried and it amused me even more. I realized my smirk had surely warned her that my question was likely to make her blush.

"It's about our adventure in the past. When you kissed the past version of myself…"

It was too dark for me to see whether she was blushing, but her features hinted she was. It was not the first time the question had crossed my mind but I had been nice to her and never asked her. But right before asking it, thinking of this moment when I had witnessed the kiss, I thought of another question.

"Did it feel any better than the way I'm kissing you?"

She burst out of laughter. "Are you afraid you've lost your ability to kiss due to aging?"

"Swan!"

Teasing me about my age was not fair, and she knew it, but of course I could not blame her; I doubted there was actually a single thing she could ever do that I could blame her for. The delightful sound of her laugh was filling the air, but I tried to ignore it and pretend I was indignant.

"You know age is just a number." But I couldn't pretend anymore and I broke into a smile. "I might have been sailing the seas for a long time, but everything's working just as fine as ever." I waited for her to say something, but she said nothing, so I went on, trying to explain what I meant. "I was thinking of the way I was doing it; perhaps was I… wilder, before?"

"You're actually worrying about your ability to kiss," she said.

It was not even a question. It was an assertion. Which I stubbornly refuted. "No. I'm just curious."

"Well… his kiss was wild indeed, but I can assure you it was not wilder than some of the kisses you gave me."

"Good!" _Glad to know you don't have a preference for my past self._ "But that was not the question I wanted to ask." My tone was teasing and she obviously noticed, as she looked worried again when I asked, "How far were you ready to go?"


	6. Chapter 6

"How far were you ready to go?"

The night was depriving me of a beautiful spectacle, as I was sure she was blushing.

"You mean… if I had needed to distract him even longer?"

"Yes." I was there, I had seen them. And I knew the man she was kissing. He was my past-self, and I knew very well he wouldn't have stopped at a kiss. I was the one who had stopped them, and I couldn't prevent myself from wondering what would have happened if I hadn't.

"I had to keep him occupied. Our mission was very important."

 _Sorry love, I won't let you dismiss my question so easily._ Because I wanted to hear her answer, and because I was taking way too much pleasure in teasing her, I asked again, "How far were you ready to go?"

"I… I don't know. He offered me a nightcap." _Typical me._ "He would have found someone else to take to his quarters, if it wasn't me. I just knew I had to distract him, so I followed him. I didn't really plan anything, I just improvised."

 _Improvised?_ "Improvisation makes you kiss rather passionately."

"And jealousy makes you adorable. Do you realize you sort of punched yourself in the face?"

It seemed like she had suddenly decided to take part in the teasing game, and she was good at it. "Love, you have to understand. I had been waiting for you to kiss me on your free will since our first kiss, and there I saw you kissing him like you had never kissed me before."

"He was _you_. I was kissing _you_."

 _Point taken._ "But I didn't feel it so our physical likeness didn't really matter to me."

She laughed and kissed me more thoroughly than I was expecting, almost making me lose my balance. _Careful, love, we're on a railing._ It was only a matter of seconds before I lost myself in the kiss.

"Did you feel that one?" she asked against my lips.

"Aye, that I did."

"Good."

She sat up straight and looked up at the sky, and I followed her gaze. Thousands of stars were lighting up the wide space above us and the moon, which was almost full, was casting its silver reflection upon the surface of the ocean, bringing us the little light allowing us to make out each other.

"You'll need to teach me all about this," she said, her eyes locked on the sky. "Henry knows much more than I do. You taught him everything while I still know nothing."

"Sorry?" I felt my left eyebrow shoot up.

"No, don't apologize. I love that you spend all this time with him."

 _Don't worry, love, I was actually not sorry at all._ It was true that I had spent much time stargazing with the lad, mostly when Emma needed to deal with some mayhem going on in town and she wanted to keep her boy away from all of this. Taking the lad sailing was actually something I had not done in a while, and it was about time to renew the experience, perhaps this time with the three of us. I kept casting glances at her but she kept gazing at the sky, even when she unexpectedly broke the silence which had settled between us.

"You'd make an amazing father."

 _What?_ Her words provoked a strange feeling inside me, like a wave of warmth knotting my stomach. She was still averting her eyes, and I wondered whether I had heard this right. I reached for her hand and softly played with her fingers. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes." _My love._ I couldn't see any reason why she'd be right, considering the paternal example I had got, but I was hoping she was. At last, she laid her eyes on me. "Killian…" _Aye, love?_ She had several ways of pronouncing my name, and I knew that this way indicated she had a question to ask, but not any question; the type of serious questions which involved feelings or plans for the future. "Earlier, when we were at the house, and I asked you about the number of rooms… What you said… Did you really suggest that…" She was struggling to find her words and I patiently waited, giving her the time she needed even if I guessed what she was about to say. "That our family could consist of more than Henry, you and I?"

"Aye." _How could I not consider this possibility, when you're the one I love?_

"You'd like to be a father?"

Worded like this, the question was so straightforward that it was my turn to avert my eyes and look up at the sky. "Perhaps."

She leant her head against my shoulder and squeezed my hand; a gentle squeeze which was demonstrating nothing but love and tenderness. I said nothing more about the subject, because I knew just how difficult it was for her to open up about her feelings and our life together; tonight she had given me so much, at first talking about our past, then wondering about our future, that I would not expand on the subject, unless she wanted to.

She was looking at the sky. This was what we had planned on doing, but I didn't feel like imitating her, as I was unable to take my eyes off of her. Then, it dawned on me. "I now realize why I haven't stargazed for so long." As expected, when she turned to me, she was wondering what I was talking about, and it's only once she had her eyes locked on me that I said, "Stars can't compare to you."

A smile lit up her face. She said nothing and simply gazed at me, and I did the same, getting lost in my thoughts while looking her in the eye. I was unreasonably in love with her; it shouldn't be possible to love someone this much. It was like my whole world was revolving around her, and it was somehow dangerous, because it meant I couldn't live without her. I needed her in order to feel whole, which was making me dependent on her. But that was alright, because this love we had, all these moments we shared, it was worth it.

Feeling her lips against mine pulled me out of my thoughts, and I realized, "Let me guess, I was miles away?"

"Thousands of miles away, I'd say. And I still don't know any of the stars shining above us."

 _Stargazing, right._ How easy it was, to forget everything when she was by my side. "None of them?"

"Well, there's only one constellation I know, but there are so many stars that I can't even find it."

"What's its name?"

"The Great Bear," she said.

"Ha, that's also the only one the lad knew before I started to teach him. It must be…" I looked up and found it where I expected it to be. My hand still being in hers, I indicated the constellation with my hook. "Here."

She tilted her head back, tightening her hold on my hand and completely extending her neck as the constellation was slightly behind her. _Damn, you're too cute._

"Found it!" She gazed at it for a moment before looking at me. "How many constellations are there?"

"Many."

"Do you know all of them?"

"Probably not," I admitted.

Again, she tilted her head back, but quickly took her hand to the nape of her neck and came back to her initial position.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yes." She let go of her neck and looked back at the ship. Then, she kissed me and whispered against my lips, "Follow me."

Nimbly, she turned around and got off the railing.

"Where are you going?"

"Come," she simply said.

I got off the railing as well. In the dark, I could only make out her silhouette. She stopped only a few steps away from me, and then did something I wasn't expecting.

"What…" _Did you just lay down?_ "What are you doing?"

There was suddenly some light and I could see she was indeed lying down on the floor.

"What?" she asked with a smile, propped up on an elbow. I realized the light was coming from a fireball hovering over her hand, but I focused my attention back on her. She seemed amused. "There are plenty of activities a woman can do on her back, you know?" Her words drowned my mind with memories of our first swordfight and made me speechless. I was gazing at her, and at the fireball, and she giggled. "It'll be more comfortable to stargaze. Come."

But I didn't move and looked at the light instead. "Since when do you make fireballs?"

"Since tonight. It was all dark and I wanted to see your face." Her tone was teasing; she had laid down on her back like this on purpose. "And that's not a fireball, just a ball of light. That…" The light went off and a fireball alike Regina's appeared in the palm of her hand. "… would be a fireball."

Indeed, it looked different; what she was calling a ball of light had been a bright white ball, while the fireball was, as its name indicated, simply fire. But whether it was a ball of light or a fireball, to me it was the same: it was her magic, and I loved it.

"Look," she said with a tender voice.

She threw the fireball up in the air and, when it vanished out of sight, an explosion resounded while red and gold sparks lit up the sky.

"Wow, that was beautiful."

"Fireworks," she said, lighting up another ball of light so that we could see each other. "The first time I used my magic for this, you were not here. I had a feeling you'd like it."

"I love everything related to your magic. Or to you. You know it."

"I know," she confirmed and paused for a moment, staring at me, her mouth quirking at a corner. "Now, are you going to stand there or will you come to me?"

Since her tone was teasing, I knew exactly what to do.


	7. Chapter 7

"Now, are you going to stand there or will you come to me?"

Since her tone was teasing, I knew exactly what to do. She was good at teasing, but I was excelling at it; if she wanted to play this game, I could play as well. She seemed delighted that I was coming to her. Walking to her, I stopped at her feet and looked at the beautiful body lying in front of me. She was still propped up on one elbow, with a ball of light in her hand, watching my every move. There was just enough space between her feet for me to slip my right foot there and kneel down, my knees landing on both sides of her right leg, my hand and my hook on both sides of her, at first at the level of her waist, then slowly going up to stop at the level of her shoulders. As I came closer to her, she lay on her back, gazing at me, her lips parted. I was distracted for a second by the ball of magic as its light dimmed, being just bright enough to let us see each other. She found a way to let it hover a few inches above the floor and, again, she had my full attention. She was gazing at me as if she was seeing me for the first time and examining my features.

"What is it, love? Didn't you expect me to come to you?"

I decided now was the right time to flash her the crooked smile she couldn't resist, and the effect was instant; her hands landed on my neck and, before she had time to pull me down to her, I went down to capture her lips. Leaning on my elbows, my fingers reaching for her hair, I was kissing her and, though I was keeping a safe distance between our bodies, I was aware of how dangerous this game was, as I knew that I was as likely as her to give in to temptation. She tried to pull me closer by gripping my collar. _Typical Swan._ Since it didn't work, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and, this time, I lowered my body. I still kept some distance between us, even if I was probably as willing as her to feel her body against mine. But that was part of the teasing plan. I let my lips trail across her cheek and down her neck; rather cruel from me, considering the reaction she had got to one of those kisses, earlier on the bow. She wasn't making things easy for me either: she tightened her arms around me, and feeling her capturing my right leg by crossing hers over my calf was not helping me to stick to my decision. I was tempted to give in but, because she had been so teasing when lying on her back like this, and as a sweet revenge for this moment on the bow of the ship when she had made me think she wanted more than just a kiss, I resisted.

It was when my lips were back on hers and she was still trying to pull me closer that, fighting against my instincts, I pulled back and laid down by her side. "Come here."

"What are you doing?" she asked, propped up on one elbow to look at me. It was when she lit up another ball of light that I realized that the first one had gone off during the kiss. The hint of frustration in her voice was rather pleasant to hear.

"Haven't you said we were here to stargaze?" Teasing her by giving her unreal expectations, and justifying myself by using her own words against her; everything had gone off well, despite this need I was now feeling to hold her against me, and even closer.

"Right…"

She made me laugh, looking at me as if she was facing some dilemma, trying to decide whether she should blame me or not for what I had just done. I flashed her an innocent smile and it seemed to do the trick.

"Just offering you to be your pillow," I said, playing innocent. "I believe that I am more comfortable than planks of wood."

She glanced at my chest and gazed at me, and I nodded, confirming my offer. At last, she laid down with her head on my chest. Considering how she shifted several times while settling herself, I wondered if, in the end, the planks of wood were not more comfortable than I was. When she seemed to be settled, I wrapped an arm around her. I was gazing at her when it suddenly became dark as she turned off the light.

"Beautiful," she commented.

In my turn, I looked up at the sky lit up with thousands of stars. "Aye. And lying down was indeed a good idea."

The floor felt rather hard under my back, but having her here with me was making it worth it.

"Did you doubt it?" she asked.

I could not see her, but I could hear in her voice that she was smiling; a teasing sort of smile. "Never. Not when the idea comes from you."

"Well, now that we're comfortably settled, how about you teach me?"

 _Aye, Captain Swan._ "Your wish is my command," I said.

She let out one of these beautiful giggles and placed her arm along mine. I guessed she had grabbed my hook when I felt her tighten my embrace around her. I would have wrapped my second arm around her, but teaching her about the stars would be easier with a free hand. I examined the different constellations, wondering which one to begin with.

"Well, let's start there. There are three stars brighter than the other ones, forming a triangle, can you see them?" I pointed the said three stars, following the lines of the imaginary triangle.

"Yes," she said after a few seconds.

"These three stars are part of a constellation named Leo."

Using the triangle as a point of reference, I indicated her the other main stars which were part of the constellation.

"And you're saying that's supposed to depict a lion?" she asked skeptically.

I felt her tilt her head, trying to see it from another angle, and I chuckled. "You were seeing it the right way round."

"It does not look like a lion," she repeated.

"I'm not saying there was no rum involved when they traced and named them. If you asked me, I'd tell you that's a swan. The constellation Cygnus already depicts a swan, but it depicts a flying one. That one would be swimming."

"A swan, why not," she commented. "I was more thinking of a hook, if you look at the stars supposed to be the front part of the lion."

A chuckle escaped me; we were supposed to see a lion, but she was seeing a hook while I was seeing a swan. _Our imaginations are obviously not biased at all._ "A hook and a swan; I like this. For the defense of those who named these constellations, I only showed you the main stars. That's what I meant when I told you I didn't know all of them; each one is composed of more stars than I know. Other stars, less bright than those I've showed you, are supposed to be the lion's paws."

"But there are so many stars… We can actually just pick the ones we want and draw anything."

"Aye, that's quite right." Even Henry, who always had relevant comments to make, had never come out with this one, but that was rather true. "Perhaps you could even create your own constellation. But I'm afraid it's unlikely to ever be commonly used."

"Before doing that, maybe I should learn about the existing ones. You said there was a swan constellation?"

"Aye. The Cygnus."

I indicated her the different stars being part of this constellation, then showed her some other constellations, sometimes giving some details about the celestial bodies I was pointing. She became silent and I ended up wondering whether she had fallen asleep. I stopped midsentence to test my theory but, as soon as I did, she appeared to be awake, tilting her head probably in an attempt to look at me, so I went on. I explained how the Milky Way was the galaxy we were part of, and why it appeared as a band of light across the sky. I paused for a second, distracted by her fingers I was feeling inside the sleeve of my jacket, right above my hook, and resumed my tale. We saw no shooting star but, knowing how much they fascinated Henry, I talked about them. Again, I was distracted by her fingers, as she was now seemingly trying to unbutton my shirt.

My mouth quirked at a corner. "You know, if you want me to get undressed, you just need to ask."

"Uh?"

I laughed. _You're not even aware of what you're doing._ "My arm."

"Oh."

"Aye." She seemed to be rather distracted on this evening, and that was making her even more adorable than usual. She now knew her fingers were inside my sleeve, but she left them there. _Totally fine with that._ "This is why I'm saying you just need to ask if you want me to get undressed."

"I thought we were here to stargaze?" She sounded amused, even if she was trying to hide it. I could easily recognize the words I had told her a moment earlier, when we had laid down on deck and I had reminded her the first purpose of it.

"Still pouting me about this?" I teased her.

"I'm not pouting," she denied.

 _Because you can't. Just like I can't pretend to be offended when you laugh at my lack of knowledge about the modern world; I just keep smiling, because you're here with me._

"How did you resist?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" _Damn it, love, are you really asking how I control my impulses?_

"Well, I mean… I've kissed the past version of you, and this version of you wouldn't have resisted me if… if I had been lying on my back like I was. But even when I tried to pull you closer, you resisted."

A laugh escaped me and I tried to dismiss her question with a simple answer, "Years of practice."

Her question was relevant: she knew what I had been thinking of, on the first time we met. We had even discussed it earlier on this evening. And this facet of my personality which I had been trying to hide since the moment when I realized there was something special about her, she had directly experienced it with the past version of myself; or at least, could have experienced it, if I had not stopped them. If she really wanted to know more about how I had resisted her, I could tell her I had learnt how to channel the excessive energy I was sometimes feeling when she was around. But I was not keen to reveal how often I had needed to do that. Thankfully, my evasive answer seemingly satisfied her as she didn't ask anything else about it.

"Tell me more about the stars," she requested.

I gladly complied, focusing on the sky and indicating constellations I had not showed her yet. I felt her fingers unbutton the sleeve of my shirt and trail along my arm, and once again, I momentarily paused.

I broached a new subject when I started to talk about the moon, its cycles and its impacts on the oceans. After several minutes when she made no comment, and when her fingers were only lazily caressing my arm, my mouth quirked at a corner and I stopped talking. As expected, she didn't react. Perhaps was she asleep. Surely it would awake her if I wrapped my second arm around her or played with her hair, so I didn't, and slipped my hand under my head instead. I had never thought lying on deck could be so comfortable. How could I ask for more? She had obviously fallen asleep in my arms, my heart beating under her head, her hand inside my sleeve with her fingers curled around my arm. My chest was raising under her and she seemed to be breathing synchronously. Her thumb brushing my skin was the only element making me doubtful about the fact she was asleep; was she just lost in her thoughts, silently enjoying the moment? The moonlight was just enough for me to make out her silhouette but I couldn't see much. I just knew I could stay like this for a long time, all night if she wanted to. Though we had been together for a while now, we had rarely shared such quiet moments. I always smiled when thinking of how the first thing I had wanted with her was something I was still waiting for. 'Be patient,' she had told me, and I was. Waiting was actually easier than I would have expected because, in the meantime, she was giving me so much more than I could have ever dreamt of. If, at first, I had been waiting for her to be ready, other reasons could explain why it still hadn't happened, like the fact that we didn't have our own place, or the fact that we lived in a town where it was usual to have all sorts of dark queens on the loose; that was when the darkness was not straight inside us and causing us to land in Camelot or in the Underworld, or when portals were not unexpectedly opening right in front of us and sending us to other realms.

It was becoming overcast and stars were gradually disappearing behind the clouds. The wind was also rising and I could feel the tremors caused by the waves intensifying as the ocean became agitated; for now, the change was subtle, but I knew what it meant only too well: a storm was coming. I would need to awake her, or to pull her out of her thoughts if she was only lost there. But it could still wait. _Let's say two more minutes._

"Since when is it so cloudy?" she asked before I needed to do anything.

A chuckle escaped me. _Emerging at last._ "Were you just lost in thoughts, or did you fall asleep?"

"How long have I not been responding?" There was a hint of worry in her voice indicating she had not been aware of the time going by.

"Perhaps twenty minutes." I actually didn't really know, as I had got lost in thoughts myself.

"And you said nothing?"

 _Was I supposed to?_ "Well, holding you like this, feeling your touch… that's rather pleasant. Our breaths were even synchronized."

Taking her hand out of my sleeve, she softly pushed my arm aside and sat up, lighting up another magic ball whose light allowed me to see her. _Just as beautiful as always._ We were gazing at each other and, on the next moment, her lips crashed against mine. There was nothing unusual about the kiss; that was until I found myself with her lying on top of me, on her initiative. My reaction was instant, and the fact her lips momentarily paused against mine made me guess she could feel it.

"Emma…"

She went back to kissing me and I was not willing to do anything but answering her kiss. But I needed to stop her. I could feel her fingers trail down my chest.

"Emma, love…" I managed to say when she took a breath. "You're really making it hard for me to resist you right now." _Hard, that was the word._

There was suddenly some distance between our faces as she looked at me and, half-teasing, half-trying to understand, asked, "Who said you had to resist?"

I was feeling like she was even more willing than I was to give in to temptation, and I quite liked it. I indicated the sky. "The clouds, there's a storm coming."

I watched her glance up, and certainly wasn't expecting her question, "Should we go to your quarters?"


	8. Chapter 8

"Should we go to your quarters?"

 _To my quarters? I'm usually the one to ask this question._ Though taking her there was not in my intentions, the fact she was considering the option was rather pleasing. But still, I was not intending to comply with her request. "It'd be more reasonable to go home."

I didn't even try to hide my lopsided smile when she sighed. "Alright."

Her slight frustration was rather amusing to witness. She was looking me in the eye and, even if I was always up for a staring contest, there was a storm coming and we needed to move.

"Emma?"

"Uh?"

 _That's what I thought. Miles away once again._ Her eyes were filled with an innocent lack of understanding. She had obviously not realized she was still lying on top of me, and in the meantime reducing to nothing my will to make any move. I indicated our bodies. "As pleasant as it is to have you here, I'm afraid you'll need to move if we want to go home."

"Oh, sorry."

Surprisingly, she complied, getting back on her feet after pressing a light kiss on my cheek. Perhaps I had actually been hoping her stubbornness would have showed and she would have left me no choice but to remain under her. But she hadn't, and now I had to get up.

We headed back towards Storybrooke, and she was bloody brilliant. Amazing. She had been aboard this ship only a few times, and yet I didn't need to tell her anything about what had to be done; she knew. Standing behind the helm, I was watching her every move, partly because that was what a captain was supposed to do, but I didn't need to do so with her; she was doing everything perfectly. The main reason why I was watching her was that I simply couldn't take my eyes off her. I also couldn't help this mix of feelings provoked by the simple fact she was in my sight. Admiration; did she even know how flawless she was? Pride; for twenty-eight years, she had made it through a realm which was not hers and, once back where she belonged, she had risen up to countless challenges without ever failing. Fascination, for everything that she was and everything she was able to do, starting with this ball of light she was letting float by her side; her magic was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating phenomena I had witnessed in centuries. And, of course, love. She was the brightest light of my life, the one who had saved me from the dark.

My musings were interrupted by her shriek, but I was soon reassured as it was followed by her laugh, and by rain suddenly pouring down on me as well.

"Go and take shelter in the quarters!" _Even if that means you'll be out of my sight._

But the stubbornness I had expected to appear earlier showed up at that moment: instead of going to the quarters, she came to me, the ball of light following her and making her resolute smile visible. She ducked under my arm and stood in front of me, in the small space between me and the helm.

"You're going to be drenched. You should be in the quarters." _Even if I'm glad you're too stubborn for this._

"Too late for that," she shouted over the pouring rain. Indeed, I could see she was right; her hair was already soaked. "It already was before you had time to say anything. And I never listen."

"I know. Unless… what if I told you to stay here with me in the rain?"

"I'd listen. Because that's what I want to do."

 _That's what I thought, following only your own rules; one of the many reasons why I love you._ "So you want to get wet." I smirked; though the innuendo had not been intended, I liked the sound of these words. And the way she was looking at me made it obvious she had caught it too.

"I just want you." _I'm all yours._ "A little rain won't stop me. We've been through far worse than this." She wrapped her arms around my neck and came closer. "Keep me warm."

Before I had time to do anything, she captured my lips with hers. I stepped forward and she moaned when I made her stand back against the helm. I reminded myself of the coming storm. _All yours, but perhaps not right now._ It was safer to go home, but I wondered whether we would get there before yielding to desire. Or about who would concede to the other one first; that was when I decided I wanted her to be the one to give in. I had to resist, because I wanted to see how she would do it; would she just climb onto my lap and start unbuttoning my shirt while kissing me, like she had done earlier when we were on the bow of the ship, but this time without stopping? I needed some motivation to resist the temptation, and a challenge seemed to be exactly what I needed; she would be the one to give in.

The rain stopped and I noticed how she wasn't looking me in the eye but was gazing at my forehead instead. It was not the first time she was showing some fascination for my hair, and the water trickling from one of the strands let me guess it was what had caught her attention. About to tease her about it, my plans changed when she shivered because of the wind; I tightened my embrace, trying to use my body as a shield against the cold – and using it as an excuse to hold her against me. At first, I had wondered how I was supposed to handle both her and the ship, but this was actually rather convenient; while keeping her in my arms, I was firmly holding the helm, keeping it steady despite the stormy seas.

"Still not regretting the quarters?" I asked her.

"Not in the least."

 _Good._ "You'd be warmer there."

"That's not true. You're warmer than the quarters."

I chuckled, thinking of how warmer it would feel without all these layers of clothes separating us. I pressed a kiss on her forehead before hugging her. Every time a downpour started, she captured my lips. Wondering whether it was because she enjoyed kissing in the rain, she later revealed I was protecting her from the shower more effectively when our lips were locked.

The trip back to Storybrooke appeared to be shorter than I had feared it would be. We moored the ship to the dock in a pouring rain. My poor Emma looked drenched.

"Come!"

I grabbed her hand and started to run towards town. Running would lead us to be sheltered from the rain sooner. It would also reduce our time spent out in the streets, and thus reduce our chances to be stopped; who knew if it was not a dwarf thing to go out in the rain?

Emma was not running straight and I soon realized she was trying to avoid the puddles. She jumped over one but obviously landed right into it, considering the sound it made and the splash of water hitting my ankle, and I laughed. My favorite music filled the air when she started to laugh as well. She seemed to give up on dodging around the puddles, and ran faster, making me speed up to keep up with her. I was still laughing for the sole reason that she was, even if I didn't know why. At this point, all I wanted was to squeeze her into a tight hug and to taste her lips. I heard her pant and guessed this was the occasion.

"Emma, wait."

I pulled her to a stop and pulled on her hand, letting it go while her body came to crash against mine. Holding her against me, our lips were reunited, and nothing else in the world mattered. She playfully bit my lip and pulled away.

"What was that for?" she asked, breathless.

"We both needed a break to catch our breaths."

A lovely giggle escaped her. "So you're taking away the little breath I have left with a kiss."

"Aye, seems like it." _Stealing your air; typical pirate._

It had stopped raining. I was actually breathless as well, and wouldn't have minded some more time to recover – not that I would admit that – but she seemed ready to depart already, and defiantly looked at me with a playful smile on her lips.

"The first to arrive wins!" she announced right before running off.

 _Wins what?_ Whatever that was, there was no way I would let her put some distance between us, so I followed, running after her. She had a head start, and she was fast. Very fast; if I didn't hurry, she would arrive first. I was closing the distance, but she was already at the level of the white picket fence. Only a few strides were separating us from the front door when, at last, I caught up with her, and she gasped and laughed when I captured her in my embrace.

"Where did you think you were going?" I asked, holding her back against me.

She suddenly wriggled in my arms as if I had touched a sensitive spot. This theory needed to be tested. Trailing my fingers over her waist, I tried to find it again. And I did; she laughed and wiggled in my arms, trying to escape me, and this only convinced me to tighten my embrace and keep pressing my fingers at this precise point.

"Killian, stop!" she gasped.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing, taking too much pleasure in this sweet torture I was inflicting her. At last, she managed to push my hand aside, and blocked the access to her waist.

"That's a rather interesting spot I've found there," I said while trying to slip my fingers under her hand.

"Don't!" She stopped trying to escape and looked around. "Should we consider we both won?"

"Love, about what you said, there's something you need to learn." She looked taken aback and it only amused me even more. "When you say the first to arrive wins, you have to mention what the reward is. Should I remind you how much pirates value treasures?"

"And don't you say you're a man of honor? Isn't the honor to win enough of a reward?"

 _Point taken._ But in such a situation, this was indeed not enough. I still pretended to consider the option. "Hmm not interested."

"And what are you interested in?"

 _Don't you know?_ I smirked as she seemed to have no clue. "You."

She gasped when I scooped her up, obviously not expecting it, and wrapped her arms around my neck. "You don't need to win a stupid race for this," she said, gazing at me so intensely that I got lost in her eyes. With a move of the head, she indicated the front door. "Maybe we should get inside before the next shower."

"Aye, don't worry, princess. I will save you from the treacherous rain."

"My hero!" she said with a laugh before holding my lips hostage while I carried her to the door.


	9. Chapter 9

"The key," I reminded her when I stopped under the porch and she didn't react, obviously too distracted by my lips to realize the door needed to be unlocked.

"Right," she answered, reaching for the key in her pocket.

I kept her in my arms while she opened the door. I hesitated to go straight to the bedroom, but decided to put her down right after she had closed the door and locked it. I reminded myself of this challenge I was up to; she would be the one to give in. _Resist._ I proceeded to take off my jacket, trying to hide my impatience as I did so. But when I checked on her, she had only removed her boots, and rain was still dribbling from her jacket.

 _Sorry love, but I'd say that's the time when you're supposed to take off your clothes._ "Not that I dislike the way you're gazing at me, love, but I think you should take off this soaking jacket of yours."

A drop of water fell from a strand of hair onto my nose and I shook my head before passing my fingers through it. This obviously didn't help her; she didn't move and was still gazing at me.

"Are my good looks the reason of your wandering?" I teased her.

"Your hair looks good like this," she casually said before tearing her gaze away and finally taking off her jacket.

"Well, doesn't it always look good?"

"Killian," she reprimanded with a laugh. She took another moment to admire me, before adding, "I wish it was as easy with my hair."

"You look beautiful." The words had naturally come out, because it was the simple truth.

"You're biased."

"No." She was stubborn but so was I and, on this one, I was right. I narrowed the distance between us and rearranged her damp hair over her shoulders. "You do look beautiful. But if it bothers you so much…" I could see it did. "Why don't you use your magic?"

She repressed a smile. "My hair may be blond, but it's not magic like Rapunzel's."

"Like who?"

She giggled. "And here's another movie I can make you watch."

My mouth quirked at the corner. "Another evening keeping you in my arms on the couch to plan!"

"Yes."

I thought my idea of using her magic had not convinced her, but I was obviously wrong, as she closed her eyes and, a moment later, it happened: the same golden light as the one which had glowed around the basket from Granny's was now covering her head. A bright halo floated along her hair, drying it in the meantime. She was amazing. I wondered whether there was a thing she couldn't do. Probably not; her awesomeness had no limit. I stepped even closer and passed my fingers through her hair. It was as smooth and light as usual.

I felt rather proud to have been the one thinking of her magic and teased her, "Whose idea was it?"

An amused smile stretched her lips and, instead of answering, she kissed me. She was putting my resistance to the test. I lifted her up, like I had done in the afternoon, and she wrapped her legs around my waist, arousing me even more. She was gazing at me and I searched her eyes. _Is it time yet?_ She answered my silent question with a nod, and our lips remained locked from this moment in the living room to when we entered the bedroom. Having both my hook and my hand busy, the easiest way to close the door was to pin her against it. Her lips pulled away from mine, and her fingers found the first button of my shirt.

"Emma… Are you sure?"

She looked up through her eyelashes. "Do you really need to ask?"

 _I do._ I needed to make sure this was not a repeat of what had happened on the bow of the ship; I had remained in control then, but she had to know that if she was taking this path now, there would be no going back, as I was already on the edge of giving in.

"I'm sure." Her words were supported by her actions as her fingers flicked the button open.

I barely controlled the way my lips crashed against hers, or the way my body pressed hers against the door. Every button she was undoing was a step closer to this moment I had been waiting for months. Second after second, anticipation was making me more and more impatient. _Resist._ She pushed shirt and vest off my shoulders and I had to put her back on her feet in order to get rid of them. _Your turn._ Removing her top was the easy part. I had spent enough time gazing at her to notice that, under her clothes, she seemed to wear something different than the corsets all the women in the Enchanted Forest were wearing; I had been right. Trying not to get distracted by the view, I focused on the red piece of clothes covering the most interesting part. I actually quite fancied it, as it was revealing more skin than the usual corset, but there was no ribbon to pull on. I trailed my fingers over the lace, searching for a way to take it off, and stopped in her back, where there seemed to be something. Pulling her against me while exploring the back of this corset of the modern world, I left a trail of kisses down her cheek and her neck to keep her busy and unaware of this challenge I was facing, and glanced down at the fabric between my fingers. Feeling her body against my bare chest and her hands in my back slipping under the waistband of my pants made the need to free her of the red lace even more urgent. At last, a simple flick appeared to be enough, and I was able to push the straps off her shoulders. Instincts were threatening to get the upper hand. The door was right behind her, it could be easy. _Bloody resist!_ I wanted it to happen like she wanted. I wanted to see her give in to me. I was pleased to see that each of her moves was betraying an impatience alike the one I was feeling.

Soon, the only thing left to remove was my hook; something I usually didn't bother with taking off because, if the piece of metal could be seen as a threat, its absence was only showing a weakness. A weakness I didn't mind exposing to the one I loved, but she stopped me while I was working on the attachment.

"Keep the hook, I like it."

I felt my mouth quirk at the corner; this was the first time she was admitting out loud her appreciation for the attachment. But keeping it was risky. "I could scratch you."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. Unless you prefer to take it off," she said while trailing the palm of her hand over the piece of metal so alluringly that it caught my whole attention.

"I might keep it," I said, leaving some doubt though my decision was taken. _Definitely keeping it._

I quickly forgot about the hook and, my own shadow until then cast over her, I took her hand and stepped back to bring her into the light, stopping at the foot of the bed. Despite the impatience we seemed to share, I took the time to admire this body I was finally seeing for the first time. She was obviously doing the same, her fingers reaching for my chest and following a line I recognized as the scar left by one of the deepest wounds I had endured. But I was way too distracted by the view to say anything about this remnant of a reckless pirate's life. When a visual exploration appeared not to be enough anymore, I reached for her, my hand trailing down her cheek and her neck, and around her breast where it lingered.

"The view is even more beautiful than I've imagined," I heard myself say.

"You're taking your time."

This sounded like a comment more than like a critic, but it was definitely betraying some impatience.

"Trust me to know what I'm doing," I teased with the look she was describing as irresistible; it would actually be convenient if she could stop resisting me.

I could see in her eyes that she was on the edge of giving in, but so was I; fighting against my instincts was becoming rather challenging. Every part of me wanted every part of her. _Resist._ It didn't help when her fingers followed the line of another scar, this time on my waist. _So close._

"I expected you to be more… impatient," she commented.

 _If you knew._ It occurred to me that she might have also decided not to be the one to give in. I had to make her cave in. Flashing her a crooked smile and playing with my eyebrow, I brushed her lips with one finger and narrowed the distance between us. My hook slipped in her back and my hand went to rest on her side with my thumb brushing her breast while whispering, "When you've been waiting for a special moment for so long, you just relish every instant of it."

I was planning on using one of these kisses on the neck, like the one which had made her lose control on the bow of the ship, but I didn't need to; at last, she caved in, running into me and pressing her hands against my shoulders. I gladly let myself fall back on the bed. _It's about bloody time!_ Her landing on top of me made me momentarily breathless, but I quickly switched positions, my fingers slipping across her palm and urgently intertwining with hers, pinning her hand against the mattress and looking her in the eye. _Enough waiting. Let me love you._ At last, I could give in to her.

* * *

Emma fell asleep before me. It was undoubtedly very late at night; or rather, early in the morning. I had no memory of having ever felt so blissful in centuries of existence. Only the moonlight coming through the window was allowing me to make out her silhouette. I was holding her in my arms, caressing her back and playing with her hair, passing my tongue over my lips and silently enjoying the taste she had left on them. I could even feel her breath against my chest. I was undeniably the luckiest of all the men. After all these years spent lost in the darkness, I had lost hope I would ever have a chance to love again. But then, she had come into my life, and all of the hell I had to walk through had suddenly appeared to be worth it. She had chosen me. She had given me the responsibility of protecting her heart, a heart filled with true love for me, and it was the greatest gift I had ever been given; the most precious of all the treasures. It was my job to protect it, and I would gladly dedicate my life to this task. It was also my duty to make everything in my power to fulfill her; her happiness simply was the key to mine, each of her smiles was bringing light into my life, and each of her laughs was radiating warmth into my heart. Oh, how much I loved her.

I tightened my embrace, not too much so that I would not awake her – even if all I wanted at this moment was to squeeze her into a tight hug and never let her go – and drifted into sleep.

* * *

 _What a blissful dream that was!_

This was the first thought I had when I regained consciousness in the morning, and I had rarely been so delighted to be wrong; an empty bed couldn't feel so warm. If I had mistaken the caress on my chest and the soft tug on my hair for memories coming from a wonderful dream, the kiss on my neck was what made me realize: my Swan, my love, my Emma, my true love, she was there with me, in my arms.

"This was not a dream," I said while lightly tightening my embrace, keeping my eyes closed.

I opened them when she climbed on top of me. _The best view to wake up to._

"Have you often dreamt of us spending a night like this?" she asked.

 _Every night_ , I thought with a crooked smile. "Have you?"

"Uh…"

A beautiful blush covered her cheeks, and she seemed to get lost in her thoughts while gazing at me. Wondering what she was thinking about, I reiterated my question. "Have you?"

Her gaze shifted between my mouth and my eyes, before she admitted, "A few times but…"

She bit her lip and my eyebrow shot up. "But?"

Again, her gaze kept shifting before she went on, "They weren't as good as last night."

I felt my lips stretching into a wide smile. "This night was the best I've had in centuries. This has to have something to do with true love." This was the only plausible explanation I could find as to how each of our touches, each of our moves, each of our kisses and each of our embraces, had led to such intense feelings. "So much more powerful and… magic. Aye, magic, I'd say that's the word."

Her look made me wonder whether she was about to swoon. "All the nights to come could be like this."

Words had come out so easily that I wondered whether the past night had shattered what was remaining of her walls. _All the nights like this; what a perfect life that would be!_

"Looks like we're on our way to our happy ending," I said, delighted by this prospect. But she made a face, and I didn't understand why. "What is it, love?"

She searched my eyes before answering, "I know happy endings are what everyone is trying to get in this town, but I don't like the concept."

"What do you mean?" I asked, clueless.

"Happy ending, it implies it's ending. I don't want that; our life together is only starting," she explained.

I had never seen it that way, but I totally understood what she meant. _No way for our love to end._ "Perhaps we should rather talk about a happy beginning?"

"Much better!" she commented. "Or a happy forever or something."

"I quite fancy the concept of a happy forever."

She flashed me one of her brightest smiles, and my heart seemed to explode with happiness. While keeping her eyes locked on mine, she caressed my neck, my shoulders, my chest, and I delightedly let her do so; I had already enjoyed her touch during these hours spent exploring each other's body at night, but it felt like I would never have enough of it.

She looked up and, when she whined, a chuckle escaped me. But then, she revealed the reason why. "I need a shower."

I complained in my turn, guessing she had looked up at the clock. "Do you really have to go already?"


	10. Final chapter

"Do you really have to go already?"

Her smile widened and her hand, which had paused on my chest, started to wander again. "It's half past ten already. If we don't reappear in town soon, my father may look for me and directly come here."

 _What's the problem?_ "You locked the door," I reminded her.

"True."

Her hand, then on my stomach, kept moving down, and I bit my lip just in time to stop any sound from coming out.

"Caressing me like you do won't make me want to let you get out of this bed."

She looked rather pleased and kept going. "And what are you going to do to stop me? Are you going to make me your prisoner?"

 _Good idea_ , I thought with a crooked smile. I rolled on the side to switch positions, trapping her under my body. "That's a possibility."

She giggled and the musical sound filled the room, making my smile even wider. She looked nothing but happy, and I fancied thinking she was experiencing the same bliss as I was.

"You won't need to keep me captive. I'm staying. But at a quarter to eleven, I'll go."

I looked up at the clock and groaned when I noticed that was giving us less than fifteen minutes. "That's too soon."

"Eleven," she said.

"Still too soon, but better." It would always be too soon; if it was up to me, I'd stay with her in this bed all day.

We were gazing at each other, and it was one of these times when silence was speaking louder than words. A simple shift would be enough. We had half an hour left, and all I wanted was to love her and to leave trails of kisses all over her body, letting my lips explore all of her lines like I had done at night. I was looking her in the eye, and it was obvious she was thinking of the same activities.

* * *

Her eyes were closed and I wondered whether she had fallen asleep again. Or perhaps my kisses were just too delightful for her to keep her eyes open. But, glancing up at the clock between two kisses, I could see we were running out of time. At first not saying anything because I just wanted to keep her here with me, I ended up deciding she had the right to know. With a bit of luck, she would decide to stay longer.

I pressed one more kiss on her back before warning her, "It's eleven."

Her voice being muffled by the pillow, she grumbled something unintelligible. _Good sign._

"What did you say?" I asked teasingly.

"Five more minutes."

 _Success!_ "I have all the time in the world." Focusing again on her back, I brushed her hair aside to clear her neck, and went back on kissing her, reaching her ear before whispering, "But be careful, love. You could make me think you're as unwilling to leave this bed as I am."

A muscle tensed in her cheek, betraying the presence of a smile across her lips. The smile was indeed there when she looked at me. "Maybe I am."

 _Let's stay there all day, then._ She turned around to lie on her back and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me down to her to reunite our lips.

Her fingers were curled around my biceps and it was when her attempt to push me became insistent that I understood her intentions: she wanted to switch positions. I rolled on the side and let her be on top, with her hair cascading over my chest and my neck. I watched her every move as she played with my hair and lightly scratched my jaw. She looked captivated and I quietly remained there, lying under her and not taking my eyes off her for a second, letting her enjoy whatever she was finding enjoyable.

Her fingers paused on my neck while she seemed to drown in my eyes. Gazing at her, I thought of her magic, and took her hand. Playing with her fingers and caressing her palm, I tried to imagine how it had to feel to have some warm golden flares coming out of it – even about the warmth, I was not certain. I mused over the reason why she had magic, and from there my thoughts drifted; something she noticed.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked, pulling me out of my daydream.

"I'm just…" I trailed off, not knowing where to start. Even I wasn't sure about the twists and turns my mind had followed to get there.

"Usually, I'm the one not finishing my sentences," she remarked with a soft voice.

"Well, there's a first for everything," I replied distractedly.

Gazing at her hand, I was hesitating to bring up the subject again; it would be the third time since the day before. In the evening, she had asked me whether I'd like to be a father. I had never taken the time to seriously consider the possibility, but the path my thoughts had just followed probably meant the answer was affirmative, even if I hadn't been aware about it. This revelation about my expectations for our future was enough to get me lost in thoughts.

"There's something you want to say," she said, interrupting my musings.

 _Yes. I love you._ I lifted my head up, just enough to capture her lips and passionately kiss her.

She was searching my eyes, obviously confused, and perhaps even slightly worried. "What is it that you wanted to say?"

I glanced at her hand in mine, remembering the thoughts which had initially got me lost. "It's more like something I want to ask," I told her, and her reaction was rather unexpected; at first looking anxious, she opened wide eyes and looked at our hands while clutching Liam's ring. "What is it, love?"

"I'm just thinking of the answer."

"The answer?" _You don't even know what my question is. Or, do you?_ "You're also wondering that about your magic?"

"What?" She looked bewildered; obviously, we hadn't been thinking of the same question.

"Your magic. Your hand, that's where it comes from. I was wondering if… well, they say you have magic because you're the product of true love." She let go of the ring and looked me in the eye so intensely that I needed to focus to keep track of what I was saying. "But since it's true love for us as well, do you think that, if we had a baby, she, or he, would have magic as well?"

"Killian."

Among the different ways she had to call my name, I knew this one was associated with feeling overwhelmed. This was confirmed by the tears filling her eyes and the energy she put in the kiss that followed. She hugged me and I wondered whether sharing my thoughts had been the right thing to do.

"Are you alright?" I inquired.

"More than alright," she said, looking me in the eye and allowing me to see that she was fine indeed. "I love you."

"Good!" _And I love you even more._ I realized she had not answered my question. "Magic already runs in your veins, and we are true love. It must be possible; don't you think?"

"I don't know."

The love and tenderness I could see in her eyes left me speechless for a moment, but my thoughts soon started to wander again, and I pictured two miniature versions of Emma creating these beautiful golden sparks of magic. This looked perfect. My mouth quirked at the corner. "Henry and I would be the muggles of the family."

Hearing her laugh was delightful. It was undoubtedly the first time I was the one using such references, and the fact it had amused her was making me feel rather proud of it.

"How do you even know what a muggle is?" she asked.

"Henry, of course. He loves those books. I hear about it every time we go sailing."

I could see her gaze shifting between my eyes and my lips, and I expected her to kiss me, but she didn't. "I can already say you and Henry are my favorite muggles in the world."

 _I would despair if we were not._ I wanted to taste her lips, and went to capture them. I pulled her down to me and kissed her until she was breathless.

Leaning her forehead against mine, she sighed. "I really should go."

That was when I remembered that there was a world outside this bedroom. She gazed at me and I guessed she was waiting for some sort of confirmation; I nodded. But she still didn't move and I smirked, thinking of alternative activities. "Go, before I give in to another attempt to make half-blood babies."

I was hoping I had used the reference properly. Emma dispelled the doubt when saying, "Henry taught you well!" Her playful smile made me feel like she was about to tease me. "No more attempt," she said. She pecked my lips before adding, "For now."

 _For now;_ these two words were making all the difference. The bed suddenly felt much less warm as she got up. My eyes lingered on her silhouette while I resisted the temptation to follow her, but I had something else to do, and I didn't have time to fantasize. I would need a moment in the bathroom, but I'd go there later. Getting up in my turn, I wondered whether I could wait for a shower before dressing up. I pictured her coming out of the bathroom and seeing me wandering around wearing nothing. _She couldn't handle it._ I chuckled and put on my pants before going down to the kitchen.

Of course, it was the first time I was doing all of this, but I had seen it enough times to know what I was supposed to do. Opening all the cupboards, I was discovering what was inside each of them, locating what I would need while looking for what seemed to be the most important to be found. At last, I found it: ground coffee. Now was the time to face the coffee maker. I had never used that kind of device, but I had tried to pay attention purposefully, to know how to do it myself on the day when I would find myself in charge of breakfast; this day had come. After adding some water in the appropriate compartment, I was about to add the coffee when I realized the thin parchment-like paper was missing. Again, I opened several cupboards, and found the filters next to the ground coffee. _Makes sense._ Not sure about the proportions, I quickly read the instructions to make sure I was doing it right before adding the coffee, and pressed the button. This was only one part of the plan; I needed to get everything else ready for breakfast before she would come down to the kitchen. Upstairs, I heard the tap being turned off. I didn't have much time left. Knowing that what she was spreading on her bagels depended on her mood, I put on the table everything that could be used for that purpose. There was actually no bagel, but toasts would do.

My haste made me inattentive and, whilst intending to grab two mugs, my elbow hit the pile of plates which crashed on the floor with a resounding shattering noise.

 _Bloody hell!_

Emma ran down the stairs. She was wearing a dress I had never seen, and I couldn't help noticing she didn't seem to be wearing one of those modern corsets under it. She was staring at me and it reminded me of what had just happened.

"Sorry love, I've broken the plates." I looked down at the mess I had just created. None of the plates had survived. "The whole pile, it seems."

I glanced up and it was like she was frozen on the spot, gazing at me. _That's alright, love, we can buy other plates._ I bent down, about to pick up the pieces, but she interrupted me.

"Don't touch this!"

The fragments vanished; her magic was undoubtedly behind this.

"Well, that's an easier way." Getting up on my feet, I noticed she still hadn't moved. "What is it, love? Aren't you coming?"

"You're shirtless."

I burst out laughing, not expecting this. "That's nothing you haven't seen."

"I know but…"

I felt her looking me up and down and I couldn't miss this occasion to tease her. "But what?"

"I'm not used to how handsome you are, yet."

 _Admitting it, at last!_ "That's not something you can get used to."

"I thought you'd be dressed by now."

"I already made the effort of putting my pants on. If you don't mind, I'll have a shower before putting on the rest."

"Oh."

This was definitely a sound of surprise and, though amused, I pretended to be offended by this. "Why is it that everyone seems to think of pirates as dirty? I do bathe quite frequently, love, you know?"

I was obviously not good at pretending, as she didn't take me seriously and laughed instead. But at last, she moved from her spot at the foot of the stairs and closed the distance between us, wrapping her arms around me.

"Well, next time you can join me," she said.

 _Now, that's interesting._ "Careful, love, I could take you at your word."

"I'm serious. You could have come." She was flirting with me, looking up at me through her eyelashes; there were times when I was the one who couldn't handle it.

"Someone had to get the coffee ready." I made her notice the coffee pot.

"You made some coffee?"

"Aye," I said, wondering whether I should feel proud or offended by her tone of surprise.

The sound of something vibrating interrupted us and she glanced at her talking phone. "Maybe I should check."

I nodded and took advantage of her distraction to quickly place some toasts in the machine which was fortunately easier to use than the coffee maker.

"Oops," I heard her say.

"What is it?"

"Six texts from my father."

"Is everything alright?" I asked on alert; six texts in one night were possibly not a good thing.

She didn't answer right away and I sat down to stop myself from joining her and give her time to read the texts. Convincing myself that we would already know if something bad had happened, I filled the two mugs with coffee.

At last, she laughed and tore her gaze away from her talking phone. "Relatively alright. Considering we're in Storybrooke, it could be worse. Look."

She came to stand behind me, wrapped an arm around me and pressed the side of her face against mine with a tenderness which momentarily made me forget her father's texts, despite the fact she was holding the device right in front of us.

I read the first one I saw, 'Might be in trouble: Hyde is in town. Nothing urgent for now, everyone safe. See you tomorrow.'

"Bloody hell, Hyde followed us."

"We'll deal with him," she said. "He can't be worse than Hades." _I hope so._ "Look at the two texts right above."

I laughed when I read them, and reread them.

'Wait, are you spending the night with him?'

'Don't answer the previous message, I don't want to know. Just… be careful.'

"He knows we moved in together but is still shocked at the idea we're spending the night together," I commented with a chuckle. "Your father is one of a kind. You said there were six texts?"

"Yes." She made the other texts appear on the screen and warned me with a sigh, "These ones are less fun."

'Meet me at the sheriff station. Don't worry, nothing too bad for now.'

'Emma, where are you? I don't want to take the risk of finding you and Killian, but if you're not here by 11:30, I'll come and knock on your door.'

I sighed in my turn. "Half past eleven."

It was possibly that time already and, willing to check there was no one on their way to our house, I turned back and looked through the window with a street view. I closed my eyes before I had time to see anything, loving the unforeseen feeling of her lips on my neck.

"Love, what are you doing?" I asked with a chuckle, slowly coming back to my initial position.

She took her lips away from my neck. "I just… Nothing," she said before adding, "We don't have much time left."

"What time is it?" _Is there even the time indicated anywhere in this kitchen?_ I looked around but saw nothing.

"It's written here." I could hear amusement in her voice as she pointed her talking phone she was still holding right in front of me.

"Yeah, right." _Still not used to all these modern devices._ Twenty-five past eleven. I sighed. "Five minutes."

"Or, actually, a bit more than that."

"What do you mean?"

I watched her type, and a smile stretched my lips when I saw she replied to her father, 'I'm coming. At 11:45.'

"Twenty minutes," she said while putting her phone down on the table.

She wrapped her arms around me so tenderly that it felt like a wave of love surged through my veins. I crossed my arms over hers, my thumb brushing her arm like hers were brushing the base of my neck. She pressed her lips on my cheek, with enough strength to make me tilt my head on the side.

"What is that for?" I asked before pressing a soft kiss on her shoulder.

"To thank you, for everything; the evening aboard the Jolly Roger, followed by the night here, and…" She lightly frowned. "I actually don't need any specific reason to kiss you."

 _Point taken. This statement applies to me as well._ She kissed my cheek again, and made me start with surprise when she jumped as the toasts came out of the machine.

"You made some toasts," she said, not less startled than when she had realized coffee was ready.

"Did you really think I would prepare you a breakfast consisting only of coffee?" _Love, you're underestimating me._

Her eyes shifted between me and the toasts and the coffee and everything that I had put on the table and that she was obviously only now noticing. A smile tugged at her lips. "Since when do you know how to use a toaster?"

"Swan!" I playfully complained and, as usual, she laughed. "I've been in town long enough to know how to use the toast thing."

She giggled before correcting me, "Toaster."

"Whatever the name is, I know how to use it." How was I supposed to feign offense when she was being so adorable? I kissed her cheek and went to get the toasts, which were perhaps a tad overcooked.

"Am I entitled to this kind treatment every morning to come?" she asked.

I turned to her with a bright smile, delighted that I had apparently not failed our breakfast. "If you want, that can be a part of our happy forever."

A dreamy expression took over her features, and watching her was enough to make me drift as well, thinking of what our future could look like. Of course, I had already tried to picture it, but it all looked much more real after moving in and spending the night together. While eating mechanically, my thoughts went back to where I had left them: to the fact that, over the past twenty-four hours, I had considered the possibility of becoming a father too many times for it to mean nothing. I didn't know what had triggered this; was it because seeing her with her brother had made it easy to picture her – or rather, us – with a baby of our own? This theory had just crossed my mind as I was thinking of this moment we had spent at the hospital, on the day when her brother was born; of this moment when the smile on her lips was one of the brightest I had ever seen until then. Or was this secret desire simply due to the fact that I was unconditionally in love with my Emma? _My Emma._ From there, I drifted to another aspect of the future I was picturing for us. I had been musing about it from time to time since the day when I had given her Liam's ring. Gazing at her over my mug, the idea of making her officially mine was thrilling. I would need to find her a ring. But for now, it could wait; I had to give her some time when we were not chasing some snow monster or worse evils. In the meantime, we could enjoy evenings stargazing aboard the Jolly Roger, nights like the one we had just had, and breakfasts prepared by me; we could live the pirate's life for a while, with no rules nor customs to dictate our deeds, before the day when we would conform to royal traditions. But if it allowed me to be officially hers and her to be mine, this was a tradition I would gladly conform to, and I wouldn't wait too long; I had already let her ask me out first, I wouldn't let her be the one to propose.

We had both finished eating when she came to sit on my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck while I slipped my left one in her back and placed my hand on her thigh. _My Emma._ My lips captured hers. We were running out of time, and we both knew it; we let the kiss last as long as we could, and it was the need for air which made us stop.

"We should go," she sighed.

"I just need to take a shower." _I'm not a dirty pirate, love, remember?_ The thought made me smirk. "But you don't have to worry, love. My devilishly handsome self will soon be back in your sight."

She laughed. "I'll survive. I have to change, anyway."

"Aren't you ready to go?" She only laughed more and I glanced down at her dress.

"This is my nightgown," she said, holding the fabric between two fingers. "First thing I've found before I rushed downstairs. You scared me when you broke all the plates, remember? I thought you were being attacked, I didn't have time to find something better."

"Sorry?" _Not at all, actually, and you know it._ I went back to examine what she was wearing. "Well, you still look good in it."

"But I can't go out like this," she said with a laugh. "I'm not even wearing anything under it."

"Emma…"

There were things not to tell a man, and this was undoubtedly one of them. I had noticed the absence of corset of the modern world, but I had stopped myself from wondering any more about what she was wearing under her dress. Her words were enough to make my imagination run wild as I thought of the different activities we could enjoy.

Remembering we were supposed to go to the sheriff's station, I shook my head and was about to remind her we were running out of time when she said, "We need to go."

I nodded and we both went upstairs. I got ready as fast as I could, because we were supposed to be on our way to the sheriff's station already, but especially because I wanted to be back by her side. She was already in the entrance when I came out of the bathroom, putting on her leather jacket while I went down the stairs. Stopping right behind her, I reckoned one last quiet moment was appropriate before we would go outside and face whatever was awaiting us there: I wrapped her in my arms, pulling her back against me and kissing her cheek, my lips lingering there.

"Was your shower long enough for you to miss me?"

"Aye."

She leant back against me, crossing her arms over mine and closing her eyes, our cheeks pressed together. We stayed like this for a moment, defying the outside world with every second we were stealing.

"What do you think this Hyde guy wants?" she whispered, seemingly deciding that it really was time to go.

"I don't know, but it can't be good."

"Well, nothing can come against true love. No matter what he wants, we'll face him together."

"Or find our way back to each other if he manages to pull us apart, like we said last night," I added.

"Yes. Just like my parents, we'll always find each other."

I nodded approvingly before opening the door. Whatever was up in town, the earlier we'd be back home, the better: we had a future to plan out.

* * *

 _Emma's version is also available: same story, but with her own amusing thoughts._

 _This was the last chapter of this story, I hope you enjoyed! Don't hesitate to tell me what you thought!_


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